You may notice from the influx of Christian Girl Autumn outfit pictures on your Instagram feed that September and October is apple picking season. Several weeks ago, three of my friends and I went to Smolak Farms, in North Andover, MA, to pick some apples! After thorough research in which we compared various Massachusetts farms by price, location, and covid-19 guidelines, we chose Smolak Farms because of their attractive $2 per person admissions fee and $25 small bag of apples. I had so much fun pretending to be apple connoisseurs as we picked and placed each apple in our shared bag. Other memorable highlights included the large pig on the farm and the delicious apple cider donuts. After several hours in the sun, we came home with 42 apples. This only meant one thing: two weeks worth of baking with apples. Surprisingly, we never made apple pie! Nevertheless, here are some apple recipes we did bake (ranked by difficulty) that might inspire your next apple picking adventure.
APPLE PANCAKES | Difficulty: Easy
- My roommates and I made apple pancakes by simply adding diced apples into our pancake box mix batter
- Interesting texture
- Great with maple syrup
APPLE CHIPS | Difficulty: Simple, Takes Some Time in the Oven
- I was surprised by how yummy this was!
- It requires low effort but you do have to wait for them in the oven for approximately two hours
- Simple ingredients
SNICKERDOODLE APPLE BREAD | Difficulty: Moderate
- Making apple bread is not hard at all! I would compare the process to making banana bread
- This was super yummy; I am salivating just thinking about it.
- Soft with a sweet crust, not overly sweet
APPLE CRISP | Difficulty: Moderate, Time-consuming
- Great if you can get a friend to help you cut apples
- Perfect with vanilla ice cream
- Best way to get in the fall spirit
APPLE CHEESECAKE BARS | Difficulty: Difficult
- This takes longer with two visits in the oven but the result is worth it.
- Great currency for exchanges in a popeye’s chicken sandwich
- Tip: Let them set in the fridge overnight to have that creamy cheesecake texture! Also great without the caramel!
